Karuah » About Karuah
About Karuah
The name KARUAH is thought to be derived from an aboriginal word most likely to mean ‘wild plum’. Other 
possibilities include ‘plenty fish’, ‘big water hole’, and ‘fast flowing water’.
FIRST INHABITANTS
The Worimi inhabited the Karuah River Valley before European settlement. A remarkable find relating to aboriginal history in the area has been fishing hooks made from curves in shells. They have only been found here and in NSW between Port Macquarie and Twofold Bay.
FIRST CONTACT
First contact with Europeans was in 1790 when 5 convicts escaped from Port Jackson. These convicts were viewed as returned spirits of deceased members of the tribe. They were given wives and remained with the tribe for nearly 5 years before surrendering to a ship that had sought shelter in the Port.
FIRST SURVEY
The Karuah river which drains the hinterland and joins Port Stephens at Karuah, was first surveyed, along with the rest of Port Stephens in 1795. The area was deemed not worth a return visit. Sixteen years later in 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie and wife and crew visited the area and again thought it not worth settling. Governor Macquarie named the river ‘the Clyde’.
FIRST SETTLEMENT
In 1816 a permit to cut cedar in Port Stephens was issued. The timber trade increased rapidly and soon included Rosewood. By 1870 a settlement known as Aliceton was formed on the east bank of the river. It consisted of a sawmill and a few houses for timber workers and fishermen.
In 1824 the A.A.Co was set up in England. The first location chosen in NSW was at Carrington ,on the east bank. The estate of 1million acres reached east to the Karuah river and from Port Stephens to the Manning River valley. The land chosen proved not to be suitable for large scale cattle or sheep farming so the Co. moved to the Stroud – Gloucester Valley.
Oyster farming began in the late 1800’s and by 1920 an average yield of about 15,000 bags were produced. Aborigines in the area had long eaten oysters and other shell fish and great heaps of discarded shells forming ‘middens’ are to be found in many places along the river banks.
FIRST SUBDIVISION
The first town block was offered for sale in May 1901 following the subdivision of Karuah on the west bank. By 1907 the name Karuah had become the accepted one for the village. The area had been known as Sawyer’s Point as the timber was shipped from this point.
FIRST SCHOOL
The first school was built using timber from Muston’s sawmill, at Aliceton on the Eastern bank in 1884. However as most of the children lived on the Western side a school was built here in 1908.
FIRST RIVER CROSSING
Early in the 1900’s a hand wound winch pulled a small punt across the river between Aliceton and Karuah. The crossing took 15 – 20 minutes in fine weather. Horses and cattle were tied behind and had to swim. A larger motorized punt replaced this and in 1957 the first bridge was built. This route then became the Pacific Highway. As traffic volume grew the need for a new bridge was fulfilled in 2005 when the by pass was opened.
The name KARUAH is thought to be derived from an aboriginal word most likely to mean ‘wild plum’. Other possibilities include ‘plenty fish’, ‘big water hole’, and ‘fast flowing water’.